A Single Change
by SilverBladeXx
Summary: A jutsu gone wrong can do terrible things. Summon demons, open time rifts, kill loved ones...but when it changes an entire future through one little mishap, can lives still go on as normal? Join Naruto as he goes through one massive change...or should I say she? Fem!Naruto. Rated T for language.
1. The Change

**Hey guys.**

**I'm right back in this with my new story, as you can see. This is inspired partially from a suggestion by a certain person (you know who you are), and I give them credit for the idea.**

**I hope that this is to your liking, because I certainly enjoyed writing this first chapter.**

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Konohagakure. The Village Hidden in the Leaves, in Hi no Kuni, Land of Fire. The most prominent of the five Shinobi Villages, known all around for its shinobi, its raw military force, and the two bloodlines that take residence within it. Throughout the lands, whether it be in awe or hate, word of Konoha can be heard daily. From Kirigakure, a land who's history was soaked with blood, to Iwagakure, a land once decimated by the strength of the village.

Years ago, the legendary Yellow Flash of Konoha, the Yondaime Hokage, had destroyed their forces with his legendary technique, Hiraishin. Ever since that day, they have despised Konoha, and have vowed to do whatever it takes to destroy them, and bring them the shame and humilation the Hokage had brought upon them so many years ago.

In this day and age, after the dreaded attack of the hellbeast Kyuubi, the Nine-tailed fox and near god of the Bijuu, Iwagakure may have found such a way to do so. In the Village Hidden in the Stone, word has reached the village council's ears of a young boy inhabiting Konoha, one who bore suspicious resemblance to the man that had ruined their forces single-handedly. Upon investigation, they found, aside from three whisker-like marks, that the boy looked EXACTLY like the Hokage in question...unquestionable evidence that they had found their target.

However, it would take years before they could have their opportunity to get inside the village and take the child...the Chuunin Exams, set to be held within Konohagakure. The perfect chance to do what they wished, without making themselves too suspicious. So, bide their time they would...

But their plans would meet a small hitch, as this boy, Uzumaki Naruto...well, you'll see.

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_**Konohagakure - Forest Shrine - 8:53 PM.**_

"YOU ARE THE KYUUBI NO YOUKOU, and THAT'S why everyone hates you, brat! Even Iruka, even the man that you LOOK UP TO! Now DIE, DEMON FOX!" the insane schoolteacher, Mizuki, shouted, as he readied a massive shuriken, hurling it at his target, a small boy wearing a bright orange jumpsuit hinted with tinges of blue, and a baggy hood lifted up over his head. Said person recoiled in fear at the sight of the deadly weapon spiraling towards him, a high pitched shriek echoing from his mouth.

However, before the fatal implement could find its way into his chest, he heard a wet, slurping noise, and opened his eyes to see his beloved teacher hovering over him on all fours, smiling weakly. Feeling a drop of something warm fall onto his cheek, the boy wiped it off, smearing it across three of the whisker marks on his cheeks. Looking at it, he saw the crimson color, and looked up with dilated pupils at the man who had saved him, one Umino Iruka.

"Naru...to...d-don't believe a word he says...there are people that love you dearly...p-people that..." he started, pausing in the middle of his sentence and coughing blood, before falling to his side. Gravely injured, he was unable to finish, staring at Naruto with that same weak smile.

Still staring at him in fear, Naruto was barely able to grasp the concept of what had happened...until it all just hit him. Mizuki, the bastard that had chosen to fail him and stop his graduation, the man that wanted him dead, had just killed the only person he ever saw as anything like a father...and now there would be hell to pay.

Bringing his fingers up in a cross, the blonde loudmouth shouted out the name of the technique he had just spent hours practicing, under Mizuki's advice...all a trap, now that he saw it. "KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" erupted from his petite body. And in an enormous puff of smoke, dozens, no, hundreds of dopplegangers of the boy appeared, all glaring cruelly at the man in question. Mizuki shuddered for a moment, upon seeing what had happened, frozen in place at the sight before him. A genin, one that couldn't even make a simple Bunshin, who could barely make a competent Henge...had just performed an A-Rank technique, one even Jounin were advised against using...and to this extent. As he began to turn, the clones all rushed him, pounding upon him mercilessly. Blood splattered onto the ground, no doubt from the injuries that the evil man was slowly sustaining.

As the clones continued to beat into him, each started to vanish, in singular puffs of smoke. After a few minutes of this, only the real one remained, straddling Mizuki and continuing to lay fist after fist into his already bruised and battered face. That is, before Iruka, who had been regaining his strength the entire time, grabbed Naruto by the shoulders and began to pull him away...before he slipped out of his grip. Iruka made another grab, this time nabbing the back of the blonde's hood, only to have it slip out of his grip and fall off of Naruto's head. As the boy went back to beating Mizuki senseless, Iruka was startled at what he saw. From Naruto's hood, a cascade of the boy's blonde hair fell out, much smoother than what he remembered. For the longest time, he wondered why Naruto had taken to wearing that hood, since he was young...and now that he looked, he saw why. The boy had always had a very smooth jawline...he was always shorter than others, and always so much thinner...his voice, so very high pitched...and he understood. The boy...was actually a girl.

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_**Konoha Forest Shrine - 9:22 PM**_

After a solid twenty minutes of facial devastation via a twelve-year-old's fists, Iruka had finally managed to drag Naruto, albeit kicking and screaming, away from the bloody man. Of course, the blonde knucklehead was determined to get at least one last strike in, and at the last second, managed to land a heel directly onto the poor man's genitals, eliciting a hearty groan and making the man curl up, in an extremely painful and slow movement, to protect himself from further harm. Grunting as he leaned up against a tree, his wound stinging as pressure was applied to it, Iruka looked at his favorite student, a smile on his face once more, but his eyes showing strong curiousity. Seeing the look, Naruto went to scratch his...er, her, head, only to find the hood missing. Her eyes widened with realization, and she began to panic.

"N-Naruto, hold on! It's alright, relax...just...what happened to you...?" the injured Chuunin asked, his voice full of worry as he tilted his head, the action alone enough to stop the girl from freaking out any further. She looked at him, her eyes watering slightly.

"Iruka-sensei...I'm so sorry I didn't tell you...I j-just thought...you wouldn't want to be around me..." she said, her voice having lost the hard edge it had normally, being replaced with a much lighter, feminine tone. But her sensei wanted to know, so she had to explain...especially after all this... "W-well, you see...it happened about...like, four years ago..."

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_**Flashback - Konohagakure, October 10th, 12:26 PM.**_

This was it. The day everyone couldn't wait to celebrate. An entire festival, all dedicated to the one event that took place that day, the one that everyone was so grateful for. Except for Naruto, the pariah of the village. Only eight years old, as of this day...the very same day the Kyuubi was slain by the Yondaime Hokage. Today was the most miserable day for him, every year. Today was the day that everyone could really show their hate...call him Demon, Monster, Abomination...this was the day that he was almost always killed. Every year, he always woke up in the hospital, completely injury free, but hooked up to various machines that he had learned were called "Life Support." He still had nightmares about what happened during these days, and he knew he would for the rest of his life.

But today was different. For weeks, he had been plotting out how to get revenge on a lot of the guys that always beat him up. He had managed to create his own technique, based off of the Henge...his own, personal, Oiroke no Jutsu. He had gotten it to work before, and it was about time to test it out. Sliding his miniscule hands into the standard position for a Henge, he focused his chakra, and prepared to let the technique out. However, something was off. Naruto could feel something interfering, something big inside him...and then it went haywire. In a much larger burst of smoke than he was used to, he could feel his body changing...and he screamed, the pain of feeling bones move, even if only slightly, too much for him to bear at such a young age. He could feel organs moving about, some fading away entirely, making room for new ones, those that he would need...this was not what he had planned. This isn't what he wanted!

When the smoke finally cleared, Naruto knew what had happened, somewhat instinctively...he had become a she. Thankfully, he had chosen to do the transformation within his...her, apartment, as run down as it was, so no one could see. Rushing to his broken and cracked mirror, he looked in it, seeing the changes to her face. As if to be certain, she pulled on the waistband of her pants, which now rode a little lower, before letting them snap back into place, a blush on her face. "O-oh kami, this isn't g- OH MY GOD MY VOICE!" she shrieked out, slapping her hands over her mouth with wide eyes. Before, Naruto's voice, while slightly feminine, could still be determined as male. Now it was distinctly female, and had the boy-turned-girl panicking. Looking back in the mirror, she noted that the only other visible change to gender had been her hair; formerly spiky and short, it had smoothed out considerably (with some spiky tufts still remaining towards the front), as well as lengthening down to her shoulders. Naruto assumed that she hadn't felt it simply because of the fact that she had been in so much pain. But this wouldn't do at all. So, Naruto found a pair of scissors, and one of her...more damaged jumpsuits from festivals prior, and started to cut out a chunk of it, very big for future years. Living alone for this long, even as a child, helped to produce certain skills, and sewing was one of them, as proven by her quickness at fashioning a hood and attaching it to her current jumpsuit. She found that her hands were now more nimble...more dextrous.

Curious about this change, the now-girl attempted some stretches taught in the Shinobi Academy, the ones that the guys all had difficulties with, but the girls did with ease. Bending easily into the sharp curves that the girls were able to do, Naruto was shocked at this new flexibility. "I...guess this isn't all bad..." she said to no one in particular. But that wasn't the point. She knew that it wouldn't do to only have one hood...but she was going to need supplies...which would be incredibly difficult to get. For now, though, she was really tired...the change had probably drained a lot of energy. So, she went to her ragged, torn up mattress and lied down, almost immediately drifting off into a deep, dreamless sleep.

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_**Flashback - October 10th, 7:47 PM.**_

After her long, several hour nap, Naruto awoke with a loud yawn. However, the high pitch of her voice confused her...until, after walking out of her room, she saw the reflection of her mirror, and everything immediately came back to her. She began to panick again, before remember that she had already gone through it, and the blonde girl took a deep breath, sighed, and regained what little composure she had. Nodding to herself, she put on her sandals and flipped up her new hood, obscuring her hair and shadowing her face slightly, her cerulean eyes shining out in the darkness. Inwardly, Naruto noted that she needed to get to her Jiji, the Hokage, to let him know about this...problem...and all the stuff she would need. She knew how dangerous the festival was for her, ESPECIALLY at this time, but it was reeeeeally important...and she knew the streets of Konoha really well, so she would be fine...hopefully.

After setting out, it had taken her a few minutes to get close to the Hokage Tower...but things had gotten a bit sour. While the crowds were heavily separated out farther, thus making it easy to sneak past them, they were far denser and far, FAR drunker the closer she got. Now, in the large, circular street that surrounded said tower, it was packed, people celebrating and drinking and making it basically impossible to get close...she had tried every alleyway she knew, tried the sewerlines, even tried the roofs, and there were people legitimately everywhere. Now, she had wandered into an alley she didn't know about, only to find a dead end. Cursing to herself, something an eight-year-old had no business doing, she started to turn, only to see three, much larger shadows cast over her. Looking up, she found herself staring directly in the faces of three grotesque looking, yakuza-esque men, each holding a half-empty bottle of booze with a sneer on their faces.

"Ehhhh, look Kizaki...we got ourselves a little - HIC- demon boy here...kyeheh..." the one on the left said, stepping forward, or more accurately stumbling forward, to stand at Naruto's side.

"I see that, Mato...maybe we oughta rough 'im up a bit...yaget wha' Imma sayin'?" the one on the right said with a slur, ungracefully sliding forward to block the other side.

The one in the middle, though, was clearly not as drunk as the others, as notable by the fact that he was standing without so much as a single sway, and the much more focused glare he held. "Mato, Kizaki. Shut yer traps before someone hears. We've gotta really lay into him this year...maybe get the little fuck to get the hell out of our village."

Backing up slightly, Naruto's legs trembled, her fear evident as she brought an arm up to protect herself, as if it would help. "P-P-P-please..." she stammered, her entire body now shaking as she saw what was about to happen, "P-please...d-d-don't hurt me...I didn't d-do anything!"

"Didn't do anything, huh? Tell that to my father, you little demon SHITSTAIN!" the leader shouted, thrusting a hand forward to grab Naruto. The girl turned to flee, though, and the man managed to catch her collar and jerk her back...the motion causing her hood to flop backwards. Catching sight of the girl's hair, an arrogant smirk popped onto his face.

"Well, well...look what we have 'ere...boys, it looks like we had the kid pegged ALLLL wrong. HE isn't a demon pest...SHE is a demon whore! And you know what we do with whores, eh?" he asked rhetorically, a lecherous grin plastered on his ugly mug.

Mato, the one on the left, giggled drunkely, clapping his hands together. "We f-f-forni...fornica...we fuck 'em, right bawse?!" he exclaimed, settling for use of the simpler, if far more foul, word.

"Of course we do, ya drunk asshole! Baya, we get to REALLY rough up the demon brat, don't we?" Kizaki asked, slurring his words a bit. He was clearly not as drunk as Mato, but not as sober as the leader, now known as Baya.

Nodding cruely, the man roughly grabbed Naruto's jacket, pulling at it and ripping it away, revealing the clean, white shirt that she wore underneath her jumpsuit. Despite the child's pleas for help and her struggling, no one heard, or maybe didn't care, as her fate was soon drawing near. Her baggy pants were next, the scraps being tossed aside like trash. Naruto was giving up hope, soon, her eyes shut as she braced for whatever was to follow, sobs coming from her body. The brutes merely laughed, though, clearly amused by her suffering. As Baya reached for the boxers she wore, though, a loud buzzing sound could be heard echoing in the alleyway. Confused, Baya and his men looked around, trying to find the source, before they saw...well, more like felt it.

Each of them soon felt a crawling sensation on their legs...looking down, they were shocked to see a black mass slowly covering their lower bodies, the buzzing now identified as the insects slowly engulfing them. Even as they tried to struggle, though, they realized it was fruitless. They felt their strength waning, and as the bugs covered their forms whole, causing Baya to drop Naruto, they knew they were screwed. But not dead. After they did their job, the insects retreated, leaving the yakuza-wannabees unconscious. The cloud of bugs returned to their host, a man wearing a large trenchcoat and sunglasses. Naruto attempted to crawl away, but found herself blocked by the wall again, and instead chose to cower, shielding herself with her arms again. The man walked forward and leaned down to pick her up, only to be met with Naruto's flailing and kicking body, her attempt to defend herself.

"Relax...I will not hurt you...I want to help..." the man said, picking her up even through her struggles. It didn't stop though, and the man continued to speak, though his tone suggested he did not want to talk so much. "I am Aburame Shibi...I am here to help...I saved you, young one..." whispered the man, attempting to be as calming as possible. It started to work, as Naruto stopped her struggles, though she still held herself defensively.

"H-How do I know you're n-not just g-g-g-gonna do bad things to me, l-l-like all the other villagers...?" asked the blonde, her hair disheveled and her remaining clothing dirtied by the filthy alleyway.

Shibi sighed gently, before pulling away his trademark sunglasses, revealing dark brown eyes. "I am close to the Hokage...and I know his fondness for you. You can trust me, child. I only wish to help."

Naruto looked into those eyes, and could feel that he was telling the truth, simply from the passion displayed in them. Even an intimidating man, such as himself, was very kind, apparently...enough so to calm down the frightened Naruto to the point where she actively clung to him.

With that, the man took off, away from the Hokage Tower, though Naruto didn't care. If she was going to be safe, it didn't matter. As long as the man could be trusted...

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_**Flashback End.**_

"...and after that, I started visiting the Aburame compound all the time. Thing is, those bugs really like my chakra for some reason. So, I let them eat it up, since I have so much. It's actually really ticklish, so I enjoy it," the blonde girl said, a happy smile on her face.

Ever since that day, she had started showing up at the Aburame Clan Compound whenever she had free time, getting to know the various Aburame to the point where she was good friends with all of them. In fact, whenever she did show up, she was practically swarmed with both people and bugs, as they tried to be the first to get their insects fed. Iruka, though, was just amazed at the ordeal that Naruto had gone through.

"N-Naruto...that's...that's incredible...but...you've gone this long, hiding your real gender from everyone?" he asked, incredulous.

"Yup! I didn't want a repeat of that, so...I've been a lot more cautious. The only one who even knows is Shino-kun, but that's only 'cause I hang out at his place so often. He doesn't even talk much, so I know he wouldn't blab."

Iruka stared, slightly wordless, at this. The fact that she had gotten so close to that secretive family...it was too much for him to handle. So, a quick subject change was in order. "Naruto...if you could, close your eyes for me."

Tilting her head, Naruto showed her confusion. That was a really random thing to ask her to do all of a sudden, but she decided to do it. Even if she had issues trusting a lot of guys after...that...she knew Iruka was a good man. So, she closed her eyes tight, and held them that way, even as she felt something touching her forehead.

"Okay...open them."

And open she did, her vision immediately being filled of her sensei, smiling with tightly shut eyes...and his forehead protector, his hitai-ate, missing. Looking up, she found her vision now slightly clouded by something...when she reached up to check, she felt metal and cloth...Iruka's hitai-ate.

"Congratulations, Naruto-kun...you're officially a Genin. After all you've been through, and after showing me how well you mastered that technique...you deserve it."

Naruto froze for a moment, mouth slightly agape as her mind worked to register what had just happened. She was...a...Genin?

"Y-y-y-y-you mean..."

"Yes, Naruto. You've graduated."

And with that, the now-elated girl practically launched herself at Iruka, slamming into him with a life-crushing hug, rapid and high-pitched shouts of "THANKYOU" repeating themselves over and over and over again. With a pained grunt, Iruka managed to push her off, before laughing. Realizing what was so funny, Naruto started to laugh nervously along with him, her father-figure and herself enjoying the moment.

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In the trees, however, a shadowed figure watched, only his outline visible to any onlookers. A glint of some reflective surface shone through the darkness for a brief moment, before he took off, a shadowed cloud of some substance following after him not a second later, the cloud flowing into his body.

This was not caught, however, by the other onlooker of the events, as his crystal ball only showed him the Chuunin and Genin pair that were bonding so very tightly at the moment.

"Naruto-kun...or, should I say, Naru-chan...? I'm glad that you've finally become a shinobi...but Mizuki...he almost ruined it all...ANBU, after Naruto and Iruka have left the shrine, go and collect Mizuki. I want him locked in the interrogation room...and get the Aburame Interrogation Specialist, please. I'm sure they'll enjoy this most," the Sandaime Hokage said, leaning back in his chair and taking a long drag on his pipe.

_Naru-chan...why hide this for so long, even from myself? This changes a lot in the village...when they find out, terrible things may happen..._

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**Aaaaaand end. There it is. Hope you guys liked it.**

**As always, read and review! I can NOT stress this enough!**

**Also, unlike last time, there won't be any delays in the writings of new chapters so that people can catch up. I'll update whenever I have a new chapter ready.**

**And another thing, no pairing votings will be chosen. I know what pairings I want, and they will be revealed when the time comes.  
**

**So for now, Silver is out. Kthxbai.**


	2. Gifts of Graduating

**Alright, here's chapter two, not long after chapter one. I feel like a good person for uploading this fast.**

**To those that gave me reviews, thank you very much. I hope that you guys enjoy what I did with this, because I certainly like it myself.**

**Anyway, I'll leave you to your own reading devices.**

**And before I forget, like I did last time;**

**Disclaimer: Me owning Naruto is like Lucasfilms owning Star Wars. It just isn't true.**

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_**Konohagakure - Pathway to Aburame Clan Compound, one hour before the new Genin are to meet with their sensei.**_

"Huh...I wonder why Shibi-san wanted me to stop by...he knows how important today is..." Naru said, scratching her head through the hood. She was going to have to tell her teammates, but for now, it would be secretive...at least until they were all really acquainted with each other. As for her name...well, 'Naruto' just wouldn't do, considering the masculinity of it. However, she held it as one of the ties to her past family, the name given to her. So, she simply shortened it, removing the "to" to make it Naru. From now on, she would by Uzumaki Naru.

After the events of the night prior, Iruka had taken her out to eat at Ichiraku Ramen, her favorite food joint, to explain the responsibilities of being a full-fledged kunoichi, and all the dangers she would face. She knew about a lot of them, from death to capture to being taken and sold on the slave market...it was all something the class had learned about during academy days. It was even worse for a kunoichi, though, and they had all learned that separately...so, Iruka had to take the time to give her a short version, and tell about the horrible things that could befall a kunoichi.

It was a bit scary, to think about the atrocities that missing-nin would do just to satisfy themselves. It didn't matter to them how old a kunoichi was...as long as they were female, none of them were safe or sacred. But, that was the furthest thing from Naru's short attention span now. What WAS on her mind was what Shibi wanted, the words still echoing in her mind, relayed to her through Shino. In secret, of course.

_"Naru-san...my father wishes you to come to the compound immediately. He claims to have a graduation gift for you..."_

"A graduation gift...maybe he's got some uber-strong moves to teach me! Hehe~"

It took a few minutes, despite how close by the compound was, to get there, but anyone that even knew the village, and some that didn't, would know the place immediately. The outside was pretty normal for a Konoha clan - giant stone walls with the insignia, with a large number of rooftops seen from the outside...but there was a big difference. Enormous trees scattered throughout the compound, swarming with mass quantities of insects of all kinds, from the helpful ladybug to the deadly brown recluse spider. The Aburame raised all kinds of insect and arachnids, the main reason most people found them creepy. Most girls wouldn't go anywhere near that place, but because of the circumstances, Naru actually liked it all.

With a quick knock on the gate, the slide opened, a pair of sunglasses appearing in the viewport before it closed again, and the gates opened, giving Naru access to one of the more secretive clans in the entire village. It was custom to simply let her in once it was determined it was her...and thanks to their gatekeeper, that was rather easy to do. The gatekeeper's Kikaichu had the special ability to memorize chakra signatures, and just like every other kikaichu in the clan, they went absolutely ballistic upon tasting hers. But again, that's not what we're getting at here.

From all her visits over the years, Naru had the pathway to the main house basically memorized, and could get there without a problem. It varied from day to day, depending on how many times she got swarmed by insects, but today seemed...rather quiet. No one was walking the streets, no one was attempting to get a feeding...it was so strange. Until she figured out where they had all gone.

Each and every clan member was standing on the sides of the path that ran to the door of the Aburame Clan Leader home. Shibi himself stood in the open doorway, his position beckoning her to approach, despite appearing as indifferent as always.

"Shibi-san, what is t-"

"Come, Naru. Your gift waits within the Master Hive."

With that, he turned and walked into the house, disappearing into a staircase hidden in the shadows, leading to the enormous kikaichu hive beneath the home. Naru followed with a light jog, wondering just what the hell they could POSSIBLY have for her. She had been into the master hive before, and there were no scrolls or anything. Just the hive itself. And once they had finished descending the massive spiraling staircase, her thoughts were confirmed. Just a massive hive, swarming with millions of kikaichu.

"Ano, Shibi-san...I don't see a gift in here anywhere...why did you want me to come down here...?"

"Naru, your gift is right in front of you. We have decided, that after all the chakra you have fed our kikaichu with, after all the growth you have provided, that you deserve status as an honorary Aburame. As such, we are going to reward you...with your own personal kikaichu hive. The process to becoming a hive without having an Aburame body is painful, however. If you wish to do so, please sa-

"Oh. My. God. YES. THIS WOULD BE SO BADASS! Pleasepleasepleasepleeeeeeea se lemme have it! OhgodohgodohGOD I GET TO FIGHT WITH BUUUUUUGS. I feels soooo epic now," she shouted excitedly, her eyes glistening from under the shade of her hood. It was clear how ecstatic she was, and Shibi's ears certainly took the brunt of it.

Rubbing one of them gently, he looked down at her, pointing to a sealing circle that had been drawn on the ground. "Step into the circle, young one. Once you do, I will begin the process of changing your body to accept a kikaichu hive. It will take about twenty-five minutes to finish, and as I said, the process is painful."

Naru didn't care, however. Pain meant nothing after what she had gone through in her life, and the concept of having something so awesome was just thrilling. So, she practically skipped into the circle, plopping herself down on the circle in a cross-legged pose.

"Naru, if you could, I need you to remove your outer clothing. I need to be able to see the majority of your skin to do this accurately. You may still keep your underclothing, but it is necessary for your skin to be unobstructed, lest you wish me to have some form of mishap," the enigmatic leader calmly said, walking behind her and kneeling at the edge of the circle.

Now THIS is what began to make her nervous. Even if she did trust the man, she wasn't very comfortable with letting anyone see her in that state...not anyone. It was more of the fact that she hadn't let anyone see her without her normal, baggy clothes on...but...if it was necessary...and there was NO WAY she was going to give up an opportunity for something like THIS. So, albeit slowly and shakily, Naru stripped off her jacket outside of the comfort of her home for the first time in years, revealing that she had abandoned the white t-shirt she normally wore, wearing mere cloth wraps over her undeveloped breasts instead. The bagginess of her coat managed to hide it well enough without another layer, so she had decided for the comfort of something like the wraps. However, the one thing she hadn't given up since her time as a boy was her choice of wearing boxers. This was made clear as she slowly slid off her baggy pants, setting them to the side with her coat. Sitting back in the pose she was in before, she blushed slightly, a bit embarrassed to be in that state. However, she had no reason to feel that way, as Shibi obviously wasn't paying attention to her state of dress.

His hands flowed through many seals, as the insects in the hive behind him buzzed excitedly. Fifty, one-hundred, two-hundred consecutive seals before he finshed, slamming his hands down on the seal's edge. Upon doing so, it began to contract, slowly sliding to the center point that Naru was now perched on. However, before it could even contract halfway, Naru's change started, the second most painful change in her life. Arching her back, she opened her mouth in a soundless groan of pain, her eyes wide as she felt her skin moving about on her body. Muscles contracting without her consent, her innards moving about once more to accomodate something new. Soon, from the hive, a large cloud of kikaichu started to flow forward, crawling on Naru's body as Shibi continued to perform the technique. Naru wouldn't give up though, and forced herself back into neutral position, clenching her teeth and holding her eyes shut tight. It still wasn't as bad as that day, and she refused to let herself feel weak from it.

Visible only to an onlooker, the pores at the very beginnings of Naru's whisker marks started to widen, turning into perfect openings, exactly like those that the Aburame possessed. The insects covering her body started to crawl into the openings, as several more opened on her arms and legs, another set opening on her back. The kikaichu slowly filed into the openings, taking on their symbiotic role, taking Naru's body as a hive. As the seal finished contracting, Shibi pulled his hands off of the ground, in time for the kikaichu to finish their journey.

As the pain finally subsided, Naru relaxed her body, breathing hard. It was much worse than she expected, but she was able to handle it. Barely, but she was able. Getting up, she was a bit disturbed to find that she could feel the crawling of insects inside her body...but it was...actually kind of nice. It felt familiar, even if it was foreign. But there were several other things that caught her attention. The first was that upon opening her eyes, she was almost blinded by the lighting of the room, and was forced to close them again. Shortly, though, she heard a metallic clicking, and felt something with a little weight slipped onto the bridge of her nose. Opening her eyes, she was surprised to see that she could actually see now...thanks to the pair of sleek sunglasses now shading her vision.

"The Aburame wear sunglasses for two reasons. The first is to hide our emotions," said the clan leader as he stood before her, "And the other is to protect our highly sensitive eyes. We can see more detail than others, but our eyes are very photosensitive. These sunglasses protect them. Now, come with me. You need learn the basics of controlling our insects. We suspect that you'll need it in your upcoming meeting with your sensei, and we do not wish you to go ill-prepared."

And without even waiting up, he started making his way to the stairs. Naru stared for a moment, before quickly realizing that he had just left, and got up to chase after him...before remembering her lack of clothing. Stopping dead in her tracks and blushing as she realized what she almost did, she doubled back and grabbed her clothes, hopping awkwardly into her pants and slipping her jacket on, zipping it up and taking off, hood still down. She managed to catch up to Shibi before he even got halfway up the stairs, though, and followed in silence behind him, wondering just what the basics were.

A few minutes later, Naru and Shibi arrived at a training room in the compound, spacious, with a dirt floor. Shibi made his way to the opposite end of the room, signaling for Naru to stay where she was.

"Alright...first things first...summoning your insects. This will take a small amount of time to learn, but once you have learned it, it will be simple and easy to perform nearly any technique you wish with the kikaichu. All you need to do is connect with the hive mind, and act as their queen. Then, order as you wish. Observe."

Shibi held his arms out, taking up a wide stance, as the insects began to flow out of his coat, a small number of them forming a large cloud around his body. Sliding back to his normal pose, with hands in pocket, he nodded at Naru to do the same. Gulping gently, she held out a single arm, afraid of what could happen if she failed.

_Alright...hive mind...uhm...kikaichu, obey my word...come forth!_ she thought out, focusing on the bugs within her body. A moment passed, and nothing happened. However, soon enough, a number of the miniscule creatures flowed forth from her sleeve, hovering around her, awaiting orders.

"Good...now, command them into a wall in front of you. The Kikaichu Shield. This technique will help you form the basis for your shape commands, and give you a way to understand how to attack and defend."

Nodding, she gave the mental command, more insects rushing out and creating a dense wall in front of herself. Surprised, she stared at it in shock, but continued to hold the command. On the other side of the wall, Shibi made a few hand signs...before breathing in deeply, then exhaling, a large fireball flying out towards Naru. At the same moment, she began to retract the wall, and noticed the fire. Reflexively, she pulled it back up, the fireball hitting the wall and dissipating entirely. Surprised that she had not been hurt, she pulled the wall down again, the bugs retracting into her body. Shibi took the moment to speak.

"Your kikaichu are a special mutation of the species. We needed to give you one that would suit you most...these kikaichu are special in that they will instantly absorb any chakra that does not belong in their host's body. They are perfect for one such as you, who battles with such ferocity. I hope they will serve you well."

With that, Shibi reached inside his trench coat, pulling out a fairly large scroll. Walking back towards Naru, he held it out to her, waiting for her to take hold of it. She stared at it for a moment before reaching forward, needing both hands to hold the thick scroll, and bringing it over to herself.

"That scroll," explained Shibi, "contains a list of clan techniques that all members know. Practice them well, and when you have learned them all, destroy that scroll. It may only be a replica, but in the wrong hands, it means destruction for our clan. Now, go. You only have about ten minutes until your sensei is meant to arrive."

Giving a wave of his hand, he dismissed Naru, his high collar hiding a prideful smirk. To him, Naru was like a second child, a daughter he never had. And now it was almost official...as an honorary Aburame clan member, she could come and go into their compound as she pleased, and no longer needed the gatekeeper's permission. Naru nodded happily and took off, rushing towards her meeting.

* * *

_**Shinobi Academy - Sensei Meetings.**_

All the Genin had finally gotten to meet their sensei, and had already left with him. The new Ino-Shika-Cho trio with their Asuma-sensei, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino with their Kurenai-sensei...but two had yet to even see their sensei, and the third was late. That is, until she busted into the room, her hood up, as she panted. Sunglasses firmly in place, Naru sighed with relief that she hadn't missed it, as she sat at an empty desk...closer to one of her teammates, and farther away from the other. Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke...the girl she had been infatuated with since she was younger, and the emo prick that thought everyone should be bowing down and kissing his feet.

"Ah...haha...so I'm not late? That's good..."

"Can it, blockhead. You are late. Kakashi-sensei is just later. We've been sitting here for fifteen minutes after everyone else left," the pink-haired she-devil said, an angry glare set on her face, aimed directly at the blonde.

Though, Sasuke felt the need to chime in on this, intent on making the bane of his existence feel even worse. "Oi, moron...if you're going to be late, you may as well not show up at all. I don't see how you even graduated."

Naru took the opportunity to glare at him for this, though it couldn't be seen through her shades.

"Where the hell did you get those glasses, anyway? You look like you're ripping off Shino-kun, you dork!" Sakura said, her voice grating on Sasuke. Of course, not to say that she cared. To her, Sasuke was Kami's gift to man, and she'd do anything for him. Naru, though, wouldn't have any of it.

"You'll see, okay Sakura-chan? I got these for a reason, and you'll find out later, I can assure you."

Now was the time to play the waiting game, as Naru slumped back in her seat and stared at the ceiling.

* * *

_**Two Hours Later.**_

"OKAY, THAT'S IT. Grrrr...I am NOT gonna wait like this! That bastard is gonna pay for making us wait!" our blonde heroine shouted out, as she hopped over to the front of the room, grabbing an eraser. Heading over to the door, she slid it open slightly and wedged it between the door and the frame, lodging it in place for the next person unfortunate enough to walk through it.

"Naruto, do you REALLY think a Jounin is going to fall for that? He's a top-level shinobi after a-" Sakura started to say, before being cut off by the door opening. As soon as it was open, the eraser fell...straight onto the head of one Uchiha Sasuke, who had chosen a poor time to use the restroom. With an indignant twitch of his eye, he grabbed the eraser and tossed it to the side, glaring at Naruto, the obvious culprit. The girl in question, though, couldn't help but laugh at seeing the white dust covering his hair, making it seem multicolored. Sasuke didn't see the humor though, and instead continued glaring, even as a shadow fell over him...which promptly made Naru stop and stare.

"Well, well...I see I've got a bunch of troublemakers for a team. Meet me on the roof, five minutes. I'd like to really get to know my genin."

The door slid shut behind Sasuke, now frozen in place, as the man who had claimed himself as their sensei left. The fact that the man managed to get behind him, an UCHIHA, without even alerting him was either incredibly impressive or incredibly shameful to himself. But regardless, even though the man's voice was very mellow and calm, it radiated strength and confidence. That was definitely a Jounin...but he was still nothing compared to the mighty Uchiha clan!

* * *

_**Academy Roof**_

Well, the man certainly knew how to make first impressions. Two hours late to a meeting with his Genin, and right on time for a meeting he scheduled himself. Hatake Kakashi, Jounin level shinobi of Konohagakure, and the sensei for Team 7. He wore the standard shinobi attire of baggy, dark blue pants, a dark blue shirt, the green Chuunin vest, and blue shinobi sandals...with a dark blue mask covering the lower half of his face, his hitai-ate tilted downwards to cover one eye as the other stared lazily at the three of them.

"Alright...you guys haven't made the greatest of impressions...so lets try this again. Why don't you guys just tell me about yourselves...you know, dreams, aspirations, that kind of thing."

Sakura chose that moment to chime in, her voice already clearly irritating the spiky-haired sensei. "Kakashi-sensei, since you suggested it, why don't you go first? Show us what you want us to say, you know?"

"...well, alright. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm the type of guy that doesn't really like to talk about his likes and dislikes. My dreams are...really, none of your business, and I just don't feel like telling you my hobbies. There, now it's your turn. You first, Pinky."

The three Genin stared at him in tandem, a disbelieving stare lodged firmly on each of their faces. Their thoughts were in complete sync too, so amazed they were at that introduction.

_All he told us was his name..._

That is, before Sakura finally decided to pipe up like she was told to. "O-oh, right! My name is Haruno Sakura! And I like...well, I love..." she said, trailing off and staring at Sasuke lewdly. She brought back her attention though, continuing with, "And I HATE Naruto!" The finisher to that part brought a look of disdain to the girl's face. She knew how much Sakura disliked her, but it was really hard to hear it flat out...again...

"Anyway. My hobbies are..." another look at Sasuke, "And my dreams for the future are...are..." she gave him another look, before blushing deeply and squealing. Sasuke glanced over at her from the corner of his eye, and the feeling of hate emanating from his body were too strong not to feel. But, they subsided as Kakashi gestured to him.

"My name...is Uchiha Sasuke. I have no likes or dislikes. My only hobby is training. And my dreams...to rebuild my clan, and to kill a certain man..." the last Uchiha said, his face stoic and still, portraying none of the emotion his voice did. Kakashi merely stared at him, his eye a little more solid in appearence than before. None of the Genin could tell what he was thinking, as his gaze stayed trained on the Uchiha.

"Alright... hood, you're up..."

Naru blinked for a second, unsure of what their cyclopic sensei was saying, before realizing that he was referring to her."Well...uhm...I'm Uzumaki Naru...I li-"

"Hey, Naruto, did you forget your own name or something? Kami, no wonder you did so badly in testing!" Sakura, the banshee, said, smirking arrogantly at having thought she caught Naru being stupid. But when the girl sighed, Sakura stared in confusion, wondering what was up.

"No, Sakura-chan...I didn't forget. My name is Uzumaki Naru, now, because, well..." she said, reaching up and flipping down her hood. Slipping her hands beneath her hair, she slid it out of her jacket, the long, flowing blonde lockes waving out behind her in the motion. Sakura and Sasuke could only stare in disbelief, their eyes wide, as Kakashi merely stared in mild surprise. New things happen every day, but this was something shocking.

"N-N-N...aru...when did this happen?!"

Naru sighed, standing up to look down at her. "A while ago, Sakura-chan. Years ago. I've hidden it all this time, 'cause, well...I didn't trust anyone enough to let them know..."

"Naruto..."

"No, it's Naru. Let the idiot revel in her failure."

Kakashi's one visible eye angled itself suddenly, anger clear on the portion of his face that could be seen. "Sasuke, quiet. Never insult your own teammates like that. You don't know the circumstances...if you were in the same position, I doubt they'd be like that towards you. But enough. I think we've all learned enough. Meet me at training field 43 tomorrow, 10 AM sharp. And don't eat anything, or you just might puke."

And with a final hand wave, Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the three to their own devices. But before they could say anything, Naru looked at them with sad eyes and a soft smile, and took off, hopping along the rooftops to her apartment. There were no words that could be said, as she left Sakura and Sasuke to realize she had suffered for her mistake already.

* * *

**And there you have it. Naru gets the Aburame gift, meets the team, and subsequently makes them realize that they are a bitch and a prick, respectively.**

**Read and leave a review, as always! Any criticism is always appreciated!**

**Silver out.**


	3. Rumors to Come

**Alright, guys. I'm back, somewhat. I'm very sorry for this wait...I've been going through some...rather troubling things, lately. Namely, I've been dealing with a medical withdrawal from college, and I'm going to therapy for it, too. I'll be going back, yes, but it's taken precedence over my writing. I did what I could for you, though, and I hope this is enough for now.**

**Mandatory disclaimer: Do I own Naruto? Well, did Louis Armstrong land on the moon? **

**Did you say yes?**

**NO. BAD. BAD HUMAN. Loius Armstrong was a black trumpet player. **

**...so yeah, no, I don't own Naruto. **

**I'msosorrythatwasawful**

* * *

_**Konohagakure Training Ground 12**_

_**Type - Plains**_

_**2:25 PM.**_

* * *

After trekking to her apartment for a quick rest, Naru had returned to the main portion of the village and set out for training grounds. With what had transpired just a few hours ago, she needed the mental break before she did anything, and her head had just stopped pounding. Thankfully, she was still tough, and she could get over it quickly. So, in the spirit of getting a squad to fight in, the young blonde decided to do some training with her new ability and start to learn it so she could use it in the field.

Currently, she was reading through the scroll, staring at it intently, her now-trademark hood shading her eyes once again, her sunglasses glinting in the sunlight that could reach her face. To anyone watching, it would appear that she was reading it with all the focus of a university scholar. That, however, was certainly not the case. In fact, Naru couldn't make heads or tails of some of the complex language within the scroll. During the academy, the teachers had intentionally prevented her from learning alongside the rest of the class. They stripped her of books, knowledge, and thus things needed to stay alive in this world. But she could prove herself...she didn't need fancy language to be able to use her gift. All she had to do was make her own style...her own techniques. Rolling up the scroll, she got to her feet, staring down the field at the three training dummies that were set up. Screw the basics, it was time for her to learn via experience.

Holding her arms out in the traditional Aburame way, the blonde blockhead summoned her new insects, the chakra-sucking bugs flowing out and swarming into a large, black cloud. A fox-like, cheeky grin slowly slid onto her face at this, as she noticed how it already became second nature to her. The insects would do whatever she wished...that was something she'd have to check. She had no idea how to fight in Aburame style, considering she'd never seen it...but perhaps she would learn her own way.

"Alright...let's give this a shot..."

Moving her arms about, she observed how the insects followed her hand motions as though they were commands. Though, that'd telegraph her movements too much...so perhaps just thinking the movements would make them follow. Slowly, she slipped her hands into her pockets, the bugs remaining in the cloud around her. Closing her eyes, she pictured the cloud in her mind as a single, living mass. Yet, with thousands of individual consciousnesses...it was a bit mind boggling, and brought her headache back briefly, before it faded away again. Concetrating, she pictured part of the cloud breaking off into a small ball, then moved it in front of her. Naru opened her eyes, wondering if it worked, and was shocked to see the orb of insects in fact hovering before her, awaiting her next command. It worked! It really worked! Not only was she able to control the bugs without her hands, but the fact that she could keep her hands obscured like that meant she had some unpredictability added in...perfect.

Now, though, was the time to start getting into the complex stuff. Without closing her eyes, this time, she focused on changing the shape...the orb in front of her shifted to a square, to a star, and back to an orb again, shifting around between those shapes in a constant flow. Stopping the practice, the blonde shifted them into a more practical shape...a fist. Surprisingly enough, it was in perfect form, the replica of a human fist floating, disembodied, before her. Naru's big grin only grew larger as she saw how quickly this kind of thing was becoming second nature.

* * *

_**Konohagakure Shopping District - Yamanaka Flower Shop**_

_**2:29 PM.**_

* * *

They say that nowadays, girls are all gossip and backstabbing. From observation of culture throughout the centuries, this has been true nigh constantly. When it came to dirty news, back-alley info, and just plain old rumor-spreading, all one had to do was find a tight-nit clique and any information on anything in the area would become available.

And as of any other civilization in the world, Konoha wasn't exempt. After the meeting with her teammates and sensei, Sakura had stayed behind a bit, stewing in the news that had just slammed into her. Sasuke had left almost immediately after Naru, the look on his face darker than normal. While the pink-haired shriek machine would generally have fawned over the brooder and questioned what was wrong, she was a bit too stunned to act in her normal, fangirl manner. Instead, after a few minutes of a simply dumbstruck look, not that different from her regular face mind you, she slowly got up and sluggishly walked off towards her home, electing to take stairs instead of the traditional, and somewhat flashy, shinobi method.

After taking a brief rest, so as to clear her mind, the pink-haired shriek-machine decided that she felt much, much better. Enough so, in fact, that she made up her mind to visit the OTHER village shriek producer, at her shift in the Yamanaka Flower Shop...Yamanaka Ino, obviously. There was no way this could end badly in any way, right?

The platinum blonde girl was currently busy sitting at the counter, face resting on open palm and eyes half-open from boredom. It was a slow day in the shop, with only a scarce few customers, so any person, no matter who, was welcome. So, when the shop door opened and the bell jingled that oh-so-familiar sound, she immediately perked up, until she saw just who it was.

"Welcome to Yamanaka Flower Sho- oh, it's just you," she said, dropping back to the former position and sighing in disappointment.

"Can it, Ino. I really don't need the sass today."

Our young Yamanaka quirked an eyebrow at this, curiosity peaking, as she wondered why the pinkette would be so hostile. "Jeez, what crawled up your ass? Naruto try flirting with you again or something?"

"Naru."

"Who now?"

"Her name is Nar-" Sakura began to say, before clamping her own hands over her mouth, staring with wide-eyes full of fear. Too late she realized what had happened. Even as a screaming harpy that hated the supposed "dead-last," she knew when something shouldn't be said. But reflex involving her just didn't cooperate. As such, she started to back away, pulling her hands from her mouth and grinning nervously, inching her way to the door in hopes that Ino wouldn't have figured it out. In vain, of course.

The mere second that her long-time friend had started moving, Ino was leaping into action, quite literally, to get more information. In a rather elegant motion, Ino vaulted over the counter, tackling Sakura to the ground just as she turned and attempted to bolt for the door. Knees in her lower back, one arm pulling the Haruno's left leg back, the other hand pushing her face to the ground, Ino had successfully pinned her, as only one amateur could do to another.

"N-ngh...get your fat ass off of me, damnit!" Sakura growled out, struggling against the "heavy" weight that was forcing her down to the ground.

Ino giggled somewhat maliciously and pulled on her target's leg harder. "Not until you tell me what the hell you're talking about~!"

Sakura, as much as she lacked common sense, knew when and when not to tell people the things she knew. This was one of those times, and she really did not want this to leak. But with Ino digging into her back, her struggles were just causing more and more pain and a potential injury to her leg or, god forbid, her pretty little face.

"C'moooon...spill it pinky!"

"N-nn...fine! Fine! Naruto is Naru, a girl!"

And with that, Ino promptly let her go, stepping off slowly and shakily. Seizing her opportunity, Sakura hopped up to her feet and moved out of Ino's reach, but froze when she saw Ino's face again. It seemed that she had the same realization that the pinkette had had a while ago. All this time, they were treating her like a piece of garbage, never stopping to get to know her. This was so evident in that that didn't know that the target of their anger never even got a chance for anyone to see her troubles. Well...that's what Sakura -thought- that Ino had realized. Until she spoke. You never know how truly stupid someone is until they open their mouths, huh?

"T-that means...Sasuke's first kiss...was taken by...another girl...? Wait, no...Naruto is a girl?! I've gotta tell everyone!" she shouted, the idiocy fading into a brief moment of even more idiocy. The second she finished speaking, she had launched herself towards the door in a mad dash, eager to find all the girls in her clique.

"Ino, no, wait!" Sakura cried, reaching out to the door to try and stop her, only to find that Ino was already gone and out of her sight, with no way to find her. Realizing just how badly she messed up, Sakura took off into the village, hoping to find Naru and let her know. It was the only thing she could do that was even remotely kind.

* * *

_**Konohagakure Training Grounds 12**_

_**3:54 PM**_

* * *

Out of breath and red in the face, Sakura continued her sprint, every fiber of her being just screaming for her to stop. But, she had a duty to get this done, before something bad happened. Of course, she had no way of stopping Ino from spreading the gossip around every major corner. With that head start, and the way gossip worked...well, by now, it was probably more than halfway across the village and in every housewife's home on the way. The pinkette figured that she only had a few more minutes to find her teammate before she just dropped like a rock in the middle of the walkway.

Thankfully, she had already checked everywhere that Naru would normally be in the village; the academy, onsen, ramen shop...most of the normal places hadn't even seen her that day. Since the changing-heart-banshee didn't know where Naru's apartment was, it left one last place to check; the training grounds. The blonde girl had always gone on about how she was always working to get better...so this was her last chance.

Slowing down her nonstop push to find the anomaly of a shinobi, Sakura found herself on her twentieth training ground stop, and was starting to lose hope. Panting heavily, she bent down and placed her hands on her knees, chest hurting and mouth dry. Inwardly, she was on her last legs, wondering if she was ever going to even find the other girl...the odds were not looking to be in her favor. That is, until the sounds of an exasperated groan hit her ears, the voice unmistakebly belonging to Konoha's number one knuckleheaded kunoichi. Perking up immediately, Sakura turned in the direction of the noise, seeing the all-too-familiar orange jacket not too far away. The pink-haired...some would argue, "beauty," was understandably overjoyed that she had found her, sprinting over, despite her exhaustion.

"Naru! Oh, thank god, finally...!" Sakura panted out, breath hot in the cool afternoon air.

Confused, Naru turned too see her rather...loud ally, eyes portraying her emotions easily.

"Sakura? Uh...what's up? You look kinda messed up...something happen?"

"Well, u-uhm...Naru, I'm sorry, but...I-Ino forced me to say it...I told her about your...condition..."

Cringing, Sakura expected Naru to scream, or hit her, or something along those lines; she knew she deserved it, and was willing to accept anything that she was dealt. But she was surprised when all she felt was a gentle hand resting on her right shoulder. Opening her vibrant green eyes, she found herself staring directly into the deep blue eyes of the Uzumaki, sunglasses removed, and felt her breath taken away by some kind of alien force. In all her (admittedly short) life, Sakura had never seen such purity, such openness in a person, let alone through their eyes alone. She felt drawn to the sky blue orbs, almost as if there were some magnetic attraction, and found herself lost in their depths, sinking in further and further. Had Naru not spoken, she felt as though she may have simply fallen endlessly.

"Sakura...it's alright. Word would have spread eventually. There's no way I could hide it for long once even one person knew. I'll deal with whatever happens."

A soft smile, a light squeeze, and Naru did what she could to reassure her one-way friend, despite knowing the consequences of her actions. Such a huge majority of the village hated her so much...she wouldn't be able to walk the streets without someone attacking her eventually. It happened often enough when they all thought she was a boy; this would only make it worse, she was sure. Sakura, though, refused to simply let her failure go. Her mother had raised her better. When you mess up, you're supposed to do everything you can to make up for it. But, there weren't many things she could do...but maybe one thing. Eyeing her blonde "buddy's" clothing, Sakura remembered that the young girl had been wearing the same outfit nearly every day for the past few years. That needed to change.

"Uhm...Naru...even though it's not really nearly enough...I wanna make this up to you. I've got some extra money I was saving from my allowance for a shopping spree."

In response, Naru tilted her head, confusion evident in her tone as she said, "Erhm...what do you mean, Sakura? What's that got to do with anything?"

"It means I want to buy you things! Like new clothes! I know how hard life is on you, being an orphan and living alone and stuff...and I want to help out with that," she exclaimed, her eyes watery and her voice somewhat weak. "Think of it like an apology...not only for this, but for how I've treated you in the past..."

Pulling her hand off of Sakura's shoulder, Naru pulled it across her stomach, resting the elbow of her opposite arm atop it and gripping her chin, considering the offer. Granted, it was someone else's money; it wasn't in her nature to just take money from other people for nothing, unless ramen was involved. But, on the other hand, Sakura did seem really sorry for what she did, and this was probably the only thing she could think of...besides, with her help, Naru realized she could probably get some appropriate clothing for herself. She had been wearing boy's clothing for the most part, and sometimes it just felt ill-fitting, despite the excessive size draped over her small frame. Coming to her conclusion, Naru looked Sakura dead in the eyes once more, nodding gently so as to confirm acceptance of the offer. The look on Pinky's face immediately brightened to new levels of joy, and Naru almost felt heartbreak over it. She had always liked Sakura, dating back to when she was still adjusting to the gender change. She was still confused what to feel, remnants of what was originally hardwired in still lodged in her personality.

Everything she had seen had condoned same-gender relationships as being bad, as being sinful and a flaw of character. But those feelings persisted regardless. There was no way to ignore them, but Naru did her best, knowing that even if she were still male, Sakura was too enamored with Sasuke to even see it. That look, that sheer joy that had crossed Sakura's face almost killed her inside, but she perservered, as she knew she'd be forced to throughout her life. Of course, she was snapped out of those thoughts as Sakura grabbed her left wrist and pulled her back towards the public section of the village, a bright, shining smile gracing her heart-shaped face.

"Come on, we've just gotta stop at my house, and I'll get you so many nice things! I think I have enough to get you a few outfits and some food other than ramen...oh, and we should stop by your place too, so I can see what you really need!"

Naru smiled to herself gently, happy to see her friend so elated over something so little. It was nice...to finally have someone doing something nice out of kindness, not out of being forced. Sakura didn't have to do this...she could have taken the forgiveness and ran with it. But this was entirely unexpected, and at the same time, a wonderful feeling. Slowly, Naruto looked into the sky, eyes both sad and happy at once.

"Whoever did this...thank you..."

* * *

**ALRIGHT. Chapter out. I'll get to work on writing the next as soon as possible. Again, I'm sorry this took so long...I know a lot of you like this story, and I'm happy that I've gotten such positive reviews so far. You're all the reason I even thought about continuing this through all my issues.**

**On that note, please, read and review, as always. Any criticism is helpful, and I'll take any advice I can get. **

**And to all of you that continue to read and leave me reviews, to those that favorite this story.**

**Thank you.**


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